Proof of Mutants Among Us!

Proof of Mutants among us!!

Here are photos from a school in New York, known to house multiple mutants!

Below are just a few photos, proof of mutant activity! Are they friend or foe?!

October Horror Movie Month!

I always use October as an excuse to saturate my free time with as many horror movies as I can stand. I present to you, my boon.

The Thing (1982)

The Thing has great effects.... GREAT effects. Once more... GREAT effects. I emphasize this because other than the effects I mostly find it forgettable. The characters are dull, and the plot is mostly the characters finding out little bits of plot that any versed sci-fi/horror fan would mostly figure out. There just aren't many plot points, and it focuses on saturating the viewer in the hectic fear the characters experience. And it is good at carrying that paranoia to the audience, I just think the film leaves something to be desired.

Halloween H20

Meant to be the true third sequel in the Halloween franchise, H2O is a surprisingly decent sequel to the original two films. The film is about an hour and a half long, and they manage to hold back on the bloodbath until almost an hour into it. The first hour is spent focusing on Jamie Lee Curtis' character, who, even 20 years later, is still haunted by the events of the first two films. J Lee C has a great handle on the character, and we sympathize with her as she struggles with enduring trauma. Also, Michelle Williams, though underused, is always fun to watch.

Halloween Resurrection

The sequel to H2O, this film opens with Michael FINALLY "getting it in" with his sister, and thus, we see the demise of Laurie Strode. So long Laurie, you'll always be my Final Girl! After J Lee C gets her pumpkin carved for the last time, the movie centers around a producer who is making an online reality show about a group of teenagers spending the night in the original Myers house. This film is a cast of unknowns except for Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks who I thought would give the movie some good payoff... I was wrong. I bet that Tyra only did this movie because she was able to film all of her scenes without being around the other actors (she spends most of the film in a control center, watching the kids as they explore the house). It's cool watching Busta beat up Michael Myers, but it is mostly forgettable and you don't even get to see Tyra get killed!

Walking Dead

I've only seen the first season of this series and.... UGH... Not sure if I even want to let loose on this show... All I can say is that the comic is so popular because it is ballsy, killing characters you don't think will die, torturing those who live, and orphaning children (those who don't get killed, that is). The TV show has none of the unabashed relentless terror the comic drives so deep into its characters. I do have to give credit where credit is due, and few shows manage to be both cliche and contrived at the same time. There. I feel I have conveyed my hate for this show without flying off the handle.

Poltergeist I and II

The first Poltergeist isn't really scary to me, but it is a classic, fun haunting/ghost movie. Good effects, strong cast, and really iconic. The sequel, however was much scarier than the first. The first film has the family discovering strange occurrences like objects moving on their own. It's a device in haunting films and just isn't really frightening. But in this sequel, they blow right past that, and move on to terrifying old people ghosts. And oh, boy, is this old man terrifying. His image is one you feel like you've seen a million times in nightmares, and there he is, staring at you from his dead eyes shouting "YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE IN THERE!!!" before sauntering off singing a hymn about God. He's a great character to carry the torch of horrifying preachers. And boy is he horrifying... I seriously can't even look at pictures of him if I'm alone in the apartment.

The Shining (1980)

Utterly classic. This film is on par with Silence of the Lambs as one of the horror films that transcends the genre. It extends into into the realms of thriller and drama, but always maintains a horrifying and sometimes bloody perspective. Also, it is full of great actors, Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall are, as always, wholly engaging. Scatman Crothers is an inspired choice, and is simultaneously creepy and endearing as a man with the gift of "Shining". Even the kid isn't annoying. Is it just me or are kids less annoying in old movies? If you are a horror fan and have not seen it.... What are you doing with your life?!

Creature from the Black Lagoon

I wanted to watch one of the classic Universal Monster flicks, and something about Creature from the Black Lagoon always appealed to me. Maybe it's the jungle setting, or the fact that its a more animistic monster than Dracula or Frankenstein's monster who are more characters. If you've seen enough MST3K or old monster movies you pretty much know what to expect from a movie like this. But I must say, some of the subtle puppeteering facial movements of the monster were pretty cool looking (for the time). And even in the 1950's they have the elements of science for profit vs. science for knowledge, and explore the concept of the "monster" just being a creature. And there hasn't been a remake yet, though

Friday the 13th (1980)

There's spoilers, but if you haven't seen this or don't know, then shame on you!

Classic classic classic. I don't really care about the sequels, and the remake is a joke. No Mrs. Voorhes? No thank you. Jason holds no appeal to me, but give me a creepy, psycho, revenge-seeking mother any day! This original is really groundbreaking for the slasher genre. To me this film is akin to Black Christmas and Halloween as some of the early slasher films that really defined the genre. It's ridiculous, the characters aren't strong, but its a classic cautionary tale about responsibility and the dangers of Kevin Bacon wearing cutoffs.

Species

Growing up, I used to have a video tape of Species that was recorded from a laser disc. I can't remember if I watched it for the action, the sex scenes or both, but I remember watching it a lot. Seeing it again, it mostly holds up. You feel kind of bad for the Born-to-be-Doomed SIL (an alien/human hybrid grown in a lab). True to all their forms, Michael Madsen is badass, Ben Kingsley is hiding something, Alfred Molina is snide and Forest Whitaker is super nice. People get their spines ripped out, and there's hella death-by-penetration (and even an attack by nipple tentacle!) The film is fun, though suffers a little at the hands of mid-90's CGI. But there is also some cool puppet work. And though it doesn't compare to his work on Alien, H. R. Geiger designed the creature. The movie also features a cast of yet-to-be-super-famous celebrities, including a pre-chubby Alfred Molina (trust me, he looks better with the chub) and Oscar nominees Forest Whitaker and a wee lil' pre-Dawson's Creek Michelle Williams!

Trick r' Treat

I was surprised by how well made this straight to DVD movie is. It focuses on several different characters in a small town on Halloween night. They weave the stories together well, giving you enough of each one to be interested, but not so much that you get tired of the one-dimensional characters. It seems to make a point of playing with the audiences expectations, throwing in little twists that are neither contrived nor obvious. The film also features a Spirit of Halloween type character, who we will call Lil' Spooky. Lil' Spooky basically ensures you follow the rules of Halloween, with bloody results if you don't. It's a simple concept that a franchise could be built on! And the effects for Lil' Spooky feature some great puppet work, which is always refreshing to see! Definitely a new standard to watch come Halloween time!

The Fog (1980)

Not that I knew what to expect, but I didn't really expect this movie to be what it was. Overall it was pretty disappointing. It's great to see Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh (who still acts like she's in the 50's), but overall, it's underwhelming. John Carpenter has done great work because the films he makes just feel essential, almost fundamentally mythological to the horror genre. But sometimes the films suffer from too much simplicity, bland characters, very little plot that just leave the characters treading water until the end.

Return of the Living Dead

I had never seen this one before, and was a little thrown the unofficial reference to Night of the Living Dead. Despite my reservations, it is a pretty fun zombie movie. The punks in it are awesome, and styled fabulously. Even a few really cool looking zombies! It's campy and not trying to kid anybody about the kind of film it is, but does give an interesting step-by-step guide to zombies. Definitely a must see for campy zombie enthusiasts.

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

This is definitely an interesting film, and worth seeing if only for Marlon Brando's performance of Dr. Moreau as some kind of gentle-yet-demented, albino matriarch goddess. Val Kilmer also brings an interestingly unpredictable element to his role. The two of them really accent this brazen film really well. The filmmaker brings a unique stylization to the classic tale, creating a lasting vision that burned itself into pop culture memory. In the age of Tim Burton when directors feel the need to make drastic changes to retell a classic story, it's refreshing to see a fully realized and stylized adaptation that is not just completely self indulgent. And while Fairuza Balk doesn't have the strongest acting chops, she's believable as half human. The creature effects deliver creepy and gruesome hybrid cows with hella boobs and, little person actors with creepy makeup. The creatures make you want to look away and stare at the same time. It has almost no CGI, which gives it all a nice tactile element... Not that you want to be touching anything on this damn dirty island! It's fun, bloody and disturbing, what else could you want from a horror/sci-fi flick?

The Ninth Gate

Oh, Ninth Gate... I feel like this movie is that young, yet to blossom goth cousin who you want to try and bond with because nobody else will talk to them. But then you talk to them and they're totally weird and you sorta regret bringing up Anne Rice in the first place. Thematically, the film is very much geared towards fans of horror films, but it feels more like some cheesy art thriller like The DaVinci Code. I can't figure out who they were trying to please with this film. It's not exciting or violent enough for horror crowds, and too cheesy (or maybe not cheesy enough) for an adult thriller, yet still not highbrow enough to be considered serious. And too static to be anything else. The film is about Johnny Depp who is a rare books dealer. He gets hired to verify the authenticity of a copy of The Ninth Gate, one of three known to exist. The book contains a code for how to get satanic power and open a portal to hell, fire and brimstone, etc, etc, etc. As an art history nerd, I found the plot pretty interesting, and it had an understated tone, with hints of Satanism, giving it a cool Rosemary's Baby vibe. I kept trying to stick with the movie as its formula became glaringly obvious: Depp goes and talks to a rich old white person, Depp looks at a book and takes notes, Depp talks to another rich old white person, and looks at their book, Depp finds a dead old white person, and repeat. There's a few attempts on his life, and a couple of women who, in the end, are only there to tempt him to evil and/or to manipulate him. It mostly kept me interested, I like things that are subtle. And it treads lightly on concepts that we are familiar with like the occult and play with our expectation. But the problem with this film is that there was no subversion of expectations, or even any payoff for watching Johnny Depp look at old books and talk to stuffy people for ninety minutes. And the end basically goes like this "Aaaaand, he figures it out, and you can pretty much guess what happens after that" even though we've mostly been guessing what's happening the whole time. The film doesn't give you enough at any points, not even in the end. It's just obvious, and well worn territory, and I don't understand who the intended audience was.